Huntington Avenue | ✓ [PV REWRITE]

Part I: Chapter 12

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Chapter 12 | ❝ You'd never be a bother. ❞

Tuesday, September 18th, 2018 - 12:55 p.m.

ZACH WOULD HAVE fallen asleep if the obnoxious bell between each class did not ring. He blinked his tired eyes open as Mr. Jones, his literature teacher, began to close out his lecture. Similar to how the middle-aged man entered classes on a tardy schedule, he ended his classes on a slightly late schedule.

Mr. Jones appeared to be frustrated at the sound of his students packing up when the bell rang. He was aware of his class being at least a minute or two late, but he would rather have had his students take in the final bits of information before even considering leaving.

"Class, the bell doesn't dismiss you. I do," Mr. Jones declared with a look of authority reigning over the room. "Sit down."

The class of around thirty did not appear pleased due to his policy. Slowly, everyone returned to their seated positions and set their supplies back on their desk. Mr. Jones smiled at their corrected actions, which caused the classroom to become frustrated with their annoying and oblivious teacher.

"That's better." Mr. Jones sat back down at his desk to finish his lecture.

Zach sat in his seat like a statue. He was itching to leave class and go to his next one, which was Business. He despised being late to any class, however unfortunately, that would most likely have been the case for him once he was able to escape from his hell of a Literature class. The balding man would not stop talking.

The blonde seated next to him also did not look amused. She was staring down at her Literature textbook while pretending to read the passage Mr. Jones was discussing. Kelsey did not dislike literature, but she believed it could have been taught by a better teacher rather than one who refused to be quiet.

Finally, after about another two or three minutes of talking, Mr. Jones closed out his speech rather than a lecture. "Alright, you all are dismissed. See you tomorrow."

If the class seemed like a stampede before, it was a hurricane at that point. Zach remained in his seat, taking his time to put away his laptop while the rest of the class fought against each other to leave the classroom first. Kelsey, to Zach's surprise, waited along with him. He made that particular discovery when she gently tapped on his shoulder.

"Zach, are you okay?" she inquired kindly.

Zach nodded after he turned to her due to the shoulder tap. "Yeah, I'm just waiting for the room to clear out a bit so I don't get trampled," he joked halfway.

"Do you mind if I wait with you, then?" Kelsey sat back down at her desk and crossed one leg over the other casually.

The teenager's face seemed to light up at Kelsey's request. He was not used to others offering to wait with him, even for a minute after class—especially with the risk of being late for their next class. Mr. Jones always made sure to use up every last bit of class time, and if he failed to do so, he kept his students late, which caused many unwanted and accidental detentions.